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- RAWA
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- RAWA, the Revolutionary Association of
the Women of Afghanistan, was established in Kabul, Afghanistan, in
1977 as an independent political organization of Afghan women fighting
for human rights and for social justice in Afghanistan. The founders
were a number of Afghan woman intellectuals under the sagacious
leadership of Meena who
in 1987 was assassinated in Quetta, Pakistan, by Afghan agents of the
then KGB in connivance with fundamentalist band of Gulbuddin
Hekmatyar . RAWA’s objective was to involve an increasing number
of Afghan women in social and political activities aimed at acquiring
women’s human rights and contributing to the struggle for the
establishment of a government based on democratic and secular values
in Afghanistan. Despite the suffocating political atmosphere, RAWA
very soon became involved in widespread activities in different
socio-political arenas including education, health and income
generation as well as political agitation.
- Before the Moscow-directed coup d’état
of April 1978 in Afghanistan, RAWA’s activities were confined to
agitation for women’s rights and democracy, but after the coup and
particularly after the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan in December
1979, RAWA became directly involved in the war of resistance. In
contradistinction to the absolute majority of the vaunted Islamic
fundamentalist "freedom fighters" of the anti-Soviet war of
resistance, RAWA from the outset advocated democracy and secularism.
Despite the horrors and the political oppression, RAWA’s appeal and
influence grew in the years of the Soviet occupation and a growing
number of RAWA activists were sent to work among refugee women in
Pakistan. For the purpose of addressing the immediate needs of refugee
women and children, RAWA established schools with hostels for boys and
girls, a hospital for refugee Afghan women and children in Quetta,
Pakistan with mobile teams. In addition, it conducted nursing courses,
literacy courses and vocational training courses for women.
Demonstrations against the Soviet invaders and their stooges and later
on against the fundamentalists, and unrelenting exposure of their
treason and heinous crimes has been a hallmark of RAWA’s political
activities. It was in consequence of its anti-Soviet occupationist
struggle and agitation that RAWA was marked for annihilation by the
Soviets and their cronies, while the Islamic fundamentalists vented
their wrath on our organisation for our pro-democracy, pro-secularist
and anti-fundamentalist stance. Our uncompromising attitude against
these two enemies of our people has cost us dear, as witnessed by the
martyrdom of our founding leader and a large number of our key
activists, but we have unswervingly stood, and continue to stand, by
our principles despite the deadly blows that we have been dealt.
For the purpose of propagating our views, aims and objectives, and to
give Afghan women social and political awareness in regard to their
rights and potentialities, RAWA launched a bilingual (Persian/Pashtu)
magazine, Payam-e-Zan
(Woman's Message) in 1981. Publication of this magazine is on-going
and by-issues in Urdu and English for non-Persian/Pashtu speakers.
Since the overthrow of the Soviet-installed puppet regime in 1992 the
focus of RAWA’s political struggle has been against the
fundamentalists’ and the ultra-fundamentalist Taliban’s criminal
policies and atrocities against the people of Afghanistan in general
and their incredibly ultra-male-chauvinistic and anti-woman
orientation in particular. Apart from the political challenges facing
RAWA, tremendous social and relief work amongst unimaginably
traumatised women and children lie ahead of us, but unfortunately we
do not at the moment enjoy any support from international NGOs,
therefore our social programmes
are presently greatly reduced for lack of funds. -
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- Contact Info:
visit their website at: http://www.rawa.org
RAWA
P.O.Box 374
Quetta
Pakistan
Support Afghan Women
PMB 226
915 W. Arrow Hwy.
San Dimas, CA 91773
USA
Phone: 0092-300-551638
Fax: 001-760-2819855
E-mail: rawa@rawa.org
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